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Thursday, January 5, 2017

The Return of Be Your Own Book Club! January 2017

Be Your Own Book Club is a book club for ladies who want timely book recs and optional conversation with zero commitment. Each month I'll share one fiction and one nonfiction title. Feel free to read either or both. Throughout the month I'll share favorite quotes, ask questions, and foster conversations in comments on the Be Your Own Lady Facebook page, and on Twitter/Instagram using the hashtag #BeYourOwnBookClub.

I am so grateful to each of you who took the time to answer the survey questions (if you missed the survey, it's still available here, please take it!) and have used the info to try and get a feel for who is following along and what our interests are. I'm going to keep the survey open through the end of the month and will report out the findings in February. For now...It's a new year and we are the same lovely people so let's read some books together.

Description from Goodreads: Big Little Liesfollows three women, each at a crossroads.

Madeline is a force to be reckoned with. She’s funny and biting, passionate, she remembers everything and forgives no one. Her ex-husband and his yogi new wife have moved into her beloved beachside community, and their daughter is in the same kindergarten class as Madeline’s youngest (how is this possible?). And to top it all off, Madeline’s teenage daughter seems to be choosing Madeline’s ex-husband over her. (How. Is. This. Possible?)

Celeste is the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare. While she may seem a bit flustered at times, who wouldn’t be, with those rambunctious twin boys? Now that the boys are starting school, Celeste and her husband look set to become the king and queen of the school parent body. But royalty often comes at a price, and Celeste is grappling with how much more she is willing to pay.

New to town, single mom Jane is so young that another mother mistakes her for the nanny. Jane is sad beyond her years and harbors secret doubts about her son. But why? While Madeline and Celeste soon take Jane under their wing, none of them realizes how the arrival of Jane and her inscrutable little boy will affect them all.

Big Little Lies is a brilliant take on ex-husbands and second wives, mothers and daughters, schoolyard scandal, and the dangerous little lies we tell ourselves just to survive.

I picked this book because people were looking for strong moms and escapism. I absolutely loved What Alice Forgot, also but Moriarty, so I'm looking forward to diving in!

Description from Goodreads: The mega-talented creator of Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal and executive producer of How to Get Away With Murder chronicles how saying YES for one year changed her life―and how it can change yours, too.

With three hit shows on television and three children at home, the uber-talented Shonda Rhimes had lots of good reasons to say NO when an unexpected invitation arrived. Hollywood party? No. Speaking engagement? No. Media appearances? No. And there was the side-benefit of saying No for an introvert like Shonda: nothing new to fear.

Then Shonda’s sister laid down a challenge: just for one year, try to say YES to the unexpected invitations that come your way. Shonda reluctantly agreed―and the result was nothing short of transformative. In Year of Yes, Shonda Rhimes chronicles the powerful impact saying yes had on every aspect of her life―and how we can all change our lives with one little word. Yes.

This description doesn't really do the book justice. Neither does anything that people recommending it can say- I heard people raving about Year of Yes for months before I picked it up, but it wasn't until I started listening that I really understood the power of this book. I suggest audio- hearing Shonda Rhimes read about her own self makes it more genuine, and every speech that she references is copied into the audiobook. I loved the speeches. January is the perfect time to take a peek at ourselves. Nothing in this book is a resolution. It's self examination. I can get behind that. So that's us getting started! I'm so excited to talk about both of these books. Please let me know if you are planning to follow along! Use the hashtag to show off your bookish pics or let us know what you think about the books! Let's read more in 2017.

3 comments:

My inner monologue at work has turned into the voice of Liane Moriarty. Madeline would hate the rat shit on my floor, and water spot growing on our ceiling tiles (we have meetings with parents in my room each week...bleck). She would probably describe me as an overworked, government employee who's knock-off wardrobe was askew and never quite worked. I'm hoping she'd see me as an infuriating magician with kids having tantrums or behavior problems.

The parents of kids I work with probably describe me as Celeste thought of Susie....I'm small, white, and look like a graying 17 year old working in a broken-down building. I'm not a fancy doctor in a clean white coat in a professional medical office. Are they sure I'm the one that's qualified to tell them their kid has autism?